go out

go out

1. Be extinguished, as in All the lights went out. [c. 1400]

2. Die; also, faint. For example, I want to go out before I become senile, or At the sight of blood he went out like a light. The first usage dates from about 1700 and was at first put go out of the world. For the variant, see under out cold.

3. Take part in social life outside the home, as in We go out a lot during the holiday season. This usage dates from the second half of the 1700s and gave rise to go out with someone, meaning "to date someone."

4. Stop working, as in To show their support of the auto workers, the steel workers went out too. This expression is short for go out on strike. [Late 1800s]

5. Become unfashionable, as in Bell-bottom pants went out in the 1970s but made a comeback in the 1990s. This usage is sometimes amplified to go out of fashion or go out of style, as in This kind of film has gone out of fashion, or These boots are going out of style. [Late 1400s]

6. Cease to function as before. This sense appears in go out of print, said of a book that will no longer be printed. Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with go out.

go out

v.

1. To leave a building, region, or other place: Let's go out and look at the stars. I went out for a cigarette. The children went out to play in the snow. We went out on the porch. Instead of cooking, let's go out for dinner tonight. We ran out of rice, so I went out for some more. The seas are too rough for the ships to go out today.

2. To exit through something: Go out the back door so that no one sees you.

3. To recede from the land. Used of tides: When the tide goes out, we collect shells along the shore.

4. To leave the boundary of a game: If you kick the ball and it goes out, the other team gets control.

5. To take an active role in accomplishing something. Used with and:You should go out and get a lawyer if you want to win this case.

6. To make a trip, especially to some distant or remote location: We went out to the country to visit the dairy farm. This ferry goes out to the islands.

7. To be sent, broadcast, or disseminated: The package went out last week. The invitations went out two weeks before the party. The word went out that the couple was getting a divorce.

8. To have something, such as one's thoughts, heart, or sympathy, preoccupied with or affected by someone's suffering: Our hearts go out to the victims of the fire.

9. To take part in social life outside the home: I go out every Friday night. Let's go out tonight and see a movie. On our last date, we went out for ice cream. I'm going out to meet some friends at the mall. I went out to dinner with my parents.

10. To collapse structurally: The bridge went out after the heavy rains.

11. To become extinguished: The children were frightened when the lights went out. The power went out during the storm. We stayed up and talked until the fire went out.

12. To become unfashionable: Big collars are going out of fashion. High boots went out last year.

13. To be in a steady romantic relationship with someone: They started going out a couple of months ago, and now they are inseparable. She had been going out with him for three years before they got married.

14. go out for To undergo a competitive qualifying test for some athletic team: If you plan to go out for the basketball team this year, you had better start practicing. I've gone out for the swim team every year, but I've never made it.

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